1. Field of the Invention
The present inventions relates to van-style cargo truck bodies in general and more particularly to a corner cap assembly of an enclosed van-type cargo truck body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A large number and variety of enclosed, van-style cargo truck bodies are currently available and in widespread use. Typically, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional van-style cargo truck body 2 has opposite left and right side panels 4 (only left side panel is visible in FIG. 1), opposite front and rear panels 6 (only font panel is visible in FIG. 1), and a roof panel 7. As further illustrated in FIG. 1, the conventional van-style cargo truck body 2 also includes an first elongated corner radius member 3 interconnecting the side panel 4 and the roof panel 7, a second elongated corner radius member 5 interconnecting the end panel 6 and the roof panel 7, and a third elongated corner radius member 9 interconnecting the side panel 4 and the end panel 6. Typically, each corner of the roof panel 7 is connected to one of the side panels 4 and one of the front and rear panels 6 through a corner cap member 8. More specifically, each of the corner cap members 8 is fastened to the first, second and third corner radius members 3, 5 and 9, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Currently, the corner cap member 8 is in the form of a single-piece part made of aluminum or plastic without any reinforcement. The aluminum corner cap member provides reasonable strength and fatigue resistance at the expense of high cost and low impact resistance. The plastic corner cap member provides low cost and high impact resistance at the expense of low strength and fatigue resistance.
Therefore, the need therefore exists for a corner cap assembly for van-style cargo truck bodies that offers a combination of stiffness, strength, impact resistance and cost effectiveness, and is economical to package and manufacture.